A Fictional Essay in the YautjaHish History
by Da Yeyinde
Summary: When 20th Cent Fox let some goob write 2 books, about the Hish QueTen. I finally read one, and decided to try to fill the void. This is purely fictional, but is a good what if.


A fictional look into the Yautja/Hish History

At some point and time there was a divergence with in the population or of the species.

Not unlike the Vulcan/Romulan species or possibly due to time and space one is now a subspecies of the other.

Where as the Yautja are probably the younger, they are the ones who are more traditional, venerating the old, wiser hunter and have become a more matriarchal society.

The Hish also called the Hish-Que-Ten, each clan had its own philosophy about the Hunt, the act of tracking, killing and taking trophies from the prey they hunt. That prey must meet certain criteria in order to be considered worth of being hunted by them. Both males and females of the Hish hunt, but due to political and social differences of each clan (similar to the more warmongering nations of earth in the 20th/21st century). The clans are separate entities and becoming extinct, or in serious decline.

Perhaps on the home world or on clan planets, something changed.

There are a few theories as to the two similar yet distinctly different "Predators".

One theory is that one is a sub species of the other, or perhaps like our own ancestors, the Homo Sapien and the Neanderthal.

Or perhaps one is the end result of the further evolution of the other.

Noted differences:

Yautja lack of a "killing gland".

Hish females are similar size and build where as Yautja females are much larger and stronger than Yautja males.

Language, the Hish seem much quieter, and seem to use more non-verbal communication than the Yautja do. Also there is the possibility of completely separate languages.

A common Yautja name: Dah'toudi

Common Hish name: Bet-Karh. (Note the lack of a glottal stop, which is common in the Yautja language).

It is not known at this time whether the Hish also have two hearts, like the Yautja.  
But it is also noted they have a smell to them quite discernable to humans, a stink to them when their killing gland is being over active.

Also note that the Hish do not seem to have the ability to understand human speech, where as the Yautja either through training or mental capacity do have the ability.

Social Structure:

Hish are very clan oriented, following Elder's, but having fundamental differences in how to conduct the Hunt, from each other and from the Yautja.

Although they are very clan oriented, there seems to be a lack of training, although there has been mention of students. There is a lack of respect, hierarchy, and simple social skills on a group dynamic or basis. There are individual differences concerning respect, and trying to create a hierarchy. But as a whole that lack of simple social skills combined with the killing gland. The Hish realized they were becoming extinct and tried desperately to combine smaller clans into larger ones, but the fundamental differences in how to conduct the Hunt, led to many deaths, and the loss of many clans. Clans claim planets as their private hunting preserves. And Earth is claimed by only a few Yautja clans.

The Hunt, is a near religious ritual that was probably created to channel the energy, and desire to hunt and kill, to slack an innate blood thirst.

The Yautja either have a much smaller killing gland or lack of one all together, the male is approximately the same size as a Hish male. That being about 7-8 or so feet tall, and about 300 pounds, perhaps less. The largest differences are the size of the females and the social structure.

One may assume that at the same time the Hish were going extinct with the differences in the clans, the Yautja were having the same problems. Or, if you use the Hish as the pre-cursor species to the Yautja, the "ancestors" as it were, then the Yautja were the next step in evolution, at this time they still co-exist.

The Yautja either having learned by watching the self destructive nature of the Hish clans due to their innate differences. Or having learned the lesson from the history of the Hish, they did not follow the same self-destructive path the Hish have chosen.

One can speculate that the female Yautja at one time were the same size as the males.

And with a high mortality rate either from the Hunt or from rigors of growing up, there were more males than females.

When and how it was decided to set the female of the species as the care takers and teaching the young at an early age the social values that came to be the backbone of the Yautja society, is still a topic of speculation.

Did the remaining females make the decision? Did an Elder or Honored Ancient One see the destruction of the Hish and call for major change?

The idea that the females make decisions is a sound theory, by requiring the social change they could use their power of their sex as the tool to change an entire species.

Female Yautja had several "suckers" after giving birth. There may have been a high mortality rate, and by refusing the males advances, and only selecting the ones who were willing to change how they did things, but worked with them to ensure that change happened. There is mentioned that the females have a certain scent to them, either during estrus, or when carrying offspring. This distinct odor may only be noticeable at certain times of the year, or planetary cycle. Or it may be an ever present scent that has an unknown affect on the male.

The major changes between the Hish and the Yautja are the teaching of the young in martial skills, hunting skills, and requiring them to have a "Blooding" Hunt. This not only protects them from injury until they proven that they had learned what was taught to them, but also then gave them a foothold in their society and a voice. This also created a ranking hierarchy that was both respected and honored.

Hunt leaders, chosen for their bravery, intelligence and skills in both teaching the young, but also finding prey, and having memorable hunts. These males were given small ships with hunting parties. They were part of clan or mother ships that could belong to a larger group.

The Hunt also served a purpose in which the males learned and prospered and they gathered larger and more dangerous prey. But in order to obtain such trophies, it required skill and knowledge as well as bravery. The males who brought back the best often attracted the most mates.

Now that is not to say that females did not hunt. While they cared and raised their offspring, they taught them the basics and young females probably hunted right along side their brethren.

The other aspect that lends credence to the theory that the Hish are the precursors to the Yautja was lack of true creative technology. Up to a point, most of their technology was taken from other alien species they had hunted. There is note that interstellar ships were taken as larger trophies as well as technology. While some clans used the technology more than others, their own technological advancement was slow.

Whether the Hish in fact created such technologies as…

The Camouflage Field and Chameleon suit,

Combi staff,

Shoulder mounted plasma caster,

Various hunting blades,

Smart disc,

Collapsible shuriken,

Chain whips and other assorted hunting devices,

First aid kits,

Helmet technology,

Batteries for powering this equipment,

Technology for creating the needed biological requirements that they needed to be able to withstand alien worlds on which they conducted their Hunts…

…remains a question.  
This technology was probably either created for them by a captive or contracted race, stolen or taken as trophies. When and where they started to create their own spacecraft is when the Yautja took over as the dominant species, and the Hish started to slide into the annals of their joint history.

Respect is earned by the males both on the planets and on their ships by fighting in a practice arena, similar to the old earth sumo wrestling or boxing matches. They fight unarmed using their hand-to-hand skills, and martial skills. Thus creating a pecking order amongst those who were both Blooded and Un-Blooded. A hunter follows the directions of the Hunt leader, even if that individual is only a Hunt leader for that unique circumstance.

Low ranking males often get poor treatment, poor positions within the Hunt dynamic. An example of this is the low-ranking one having to bring up the rear, or guarding the flank or rear of a party. This does not allow for a good vantage point to hunt, unless the directive is given to "fan out". This also leaves the low ranking male in a position of danger if some thing comes at them from behind. Also due to their ranking structure, a low ranking male could and was often left out of hunts.

There is a type of Yautja described using the old Japanese word- _Eta_ or untouchable. These Yautja either committed a heinous crime, or refused to submit to the authority that was created in their society. Also, serious and repeated cowardice, being very deformed, or breaking the rules of the society in such a way that killing would have been a kinder offence would also cause Untouchable status.

The mental state of the Yautja is similar to the ancient Viking humans in so far that they wanted to die a glorious death in the midst of the Hunt, vs. dying of something simple as a blood disorder or infection from a wound.

They were raised to ignore minor wounds, and to deal with major wounds, in such a way that the saying "what doesn't kill you makes you stronger" seems an understatement.

The evidence that the Yautja started to limit the types of technology they allowed and created vs. what the Hish use, also show the gap between the two races.

Of the wide array of weaponry available, only certain ones were used in the Hunt. It is considered dishonorable to use advanced weapons such as the smart disc or the plasma caster when hunting the Xenomorph alien. But such weapons are welcomed and encouraged when they are hunting a technological equal or a species that has somewhat similar types or ranges of technology, such as humans.

The Hish do not often hunt humans, but have found us to be an interesting and intriguing species to Hunt. A Blooding hunt took place only on Xenomorph aliens. And hunters had to _earn_ the right to hunt humans, this is unique only the Yautja society. But this right was suspended once every 100 years in a ritualistic hunt that included humans and Xenomorphs. It is theorized that at one point and time we worshipped the creatures, which appears to be certain clans of the Yautja. Perhaps these were joint ventures of certain clans of the Hish and Yautja, but that is still an unproven hypothesis.

It is known that there were certain rules that the Yautja followed or created and the Hish did not. Such as not hunting pregnant, or unarmed humans, or females in general, unless they were armed…but this rule did not apply if the female was protecting her young.

Again the respect for the female comes to play. And where a female human has impressed a respected Hunt leader, and made an impression on a young newly blooded hunter. They would simply kill the male of the species, if he were armed.

The Hish allowed their novice hunters to join them on Hunts, often leading to the deaths of those under trained Hish. Also, by not respecting those in the leadership position, this has caused much infighting amongst themselves, and leads to further dwindling of their own numbers.

But perhaps being ruled by the biological urge to kill by the "killing gland", they are causing their own self destruction. There is some speculation that some Yautja are absorbing the remaining Hish into their society. It is known that they do share space on ships, and may have even been parts of the same clans. Whether that is true or not, one cannot be sure. The Hish find a certain comfort being in their own company. The attitude of both was that the Hunt was everything, but their conflicting logic of how it should be done, what methods were best, that is what caused the decline of the Hish, and the rise of the Yautja.

The Yautja felt it did not matter how you Hunted, it allowed for a freedom of style, taste, and customization of method, so long as the Hunt continued, and that the strictures of hierarchy were followed. To respect the elders, respect the female (who could break you in half if they wanted- a rumor or tale told by a Hunt leader recalling a day from his youth) and respect for the Hunt. To not be cowardly and use the more technological advantage when not needed. And if you are going to die, to face it with honor and make it memorable. Again like the ancient Vikings.

One wonders if the Yautja learned their lessons from the peoples of earth, over the ages, or if the people of Earth learned lessons from them. Quite a few things seem to cross over, from the Viking tradition of a good death, to the rituals that mirror the Samurai and even some Chinese traditions

So to conclude, the theory that the Hish decline or self destruction has led to the rise of the Yautja, either through time, or that one learned what not to do, and changed their social and educational base to allow for growth, and peace among their own clans. Along with the creation of unique technology, and interstellar ships. The Hish are probably still out there, struggling against themselves, and the Yautja have claimed most of all known, and unknown space as their personal hunting grounds.

There is the speculation that among the creatures that make up either the Hish or the Yautja, that one is a possible subspecies of the other. OR that one is or was a lower or higher caste of the other. Or the possibility that those born with out the "killing gland" were thought to be inferior and shunted off and at first either killed or banished.

If one is a subspecies of the other, that the Yautja were a subspecies of the Hish, but as they saw that the Hish are becoming extinct, changed their own basic society and hierarchy so they would not follow that same path.  
There is also the aspect, left untouched till now. Religion. The Yautja have at least two deities. The diety known as Paya, and another diety a male known Cetanu or as "The Dark Warrior". One who gave life and conquered, and one who gave or chose to give death. There has also been note of something that encompasses the Hunt and possibly incorporating a Buddhist like philosophy. For example, not being peaceful and not harming anything but the basic concept that being a Hunter, doing the deed of the Hunt, doing it the best, becoming the best, plus doing it honorably and following other strictures within their code. This to them is known as The Path, it is said to be a course for all Yautja as a whole, and a Yautja following the path- an individual Yautja's course of life.

They have certain sayings, which lend credence to them not following the Hish in their destructive ways:

One goes "Remember God's Practice".

Another goes "Learn the gifts of all sights, or finish in the dance of the fallen gods."

These two sayings speak of learning, possibly learning what not to do. Possibly seeing the destructive nature of the Hish, they harnessed the aggressive nature with in themselves, creating religion, and encompassing the Hunt to a near religious and military state, that now rules them.

Paya may well be a pair of Yautja, or a female who over came and conquered, fighting the extinction that threatened to overcome both Hish and Yautja. And perhaps Cetanu was the highest ranking male who died honorably, setting an example of some sort. It is not known if this was good or bad.

However, the Hish it seems have no belief in deities, at least none mentioned or found.

And finally…

We know that human males are often seen as threats, and human females are seen as protectors when they show bravery, or stand up to Yautja, IF they are protecting children, or the elderly, and not actively hunting them.

If one comes across one that is Hunting, please be sure not to make eye contact, act submissive, do not carry or brandish any weapon and if you survive the encounter.


End file.
